Functional Polymers in Food Science

Polymers are an important part in everyday life; products made from polymers range from sophisticated articles, such as biomaterials, to aerospace materials. One of the reasons for the great popularity exhibited by polymers is their ease of processing. Polymer properties can be tailored to meet specific needs by varying the “atomic composition” of the repeat structure, by varying molecular weight and by the incorporation (via covalent and non-covalent interactions) of an enormous range of compounds to impart specific activities. In food science, the use of polymeric materials is widely explored, from both an engineering and a nutraceutical point of view. Regarding the engineering application, researchers have discovered the most suitable materials for intelligent packaging which preserves the food quality and prolongs the shelf-life of the products. Furthermore, in agriculture, specific functionalized polymers are used to increase the efficiency of treatments and reduce the environmental pollution. In the nutraceutical field, because consumers are increasingly conscious of the relationship between diet and health, the consumption of high quality foods has been growing continuously. Different compounds (e.g. high quality proteins, lipids and polysaccharides) are well known to contribute to the enhancement of human health by different mechanisms, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary disease, and hypertension. This second volume focuses on the importance of polymers and functional food and in food processing

A comprehensive overview of the current state of this highly relevant topic. An interdisciplinary team of researchers reports on the opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology in the agriculture and food sector, highlighting the scientific, technical, regulatory, safety, and societal impacts. They also discuss the perspectives for the future, and provide insights into ways of assuring safety so as to obtain confidence for the consumer, as well as an overview of the innovations and applications. Essential reading for materials and agricultural scientists, food chemists and technologists, as well as toxicologists and ecotoxicologists.

According to an August 2009 report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the United States market for functional foods in 2007 was US$ 27 billion. Forecasts of growth range from between 8.5% and 20% per year, or about four times that of the food industry in general. Global demand by 2013 is expected to be about $100 billion. With this demand for new products comes a demand for product development and supporting literature for that purpose. There is a wealth of research and development in this area and great scope for commercialization, and this book provides a much-needed review of important opportunities for new products, written by authors with in-depth knowledge of as yet unfulfilled health-related needs. This book addresses functional food product development from a number of perspectives: the process itself; health research that may provide opportunities; idea creation; regulation; and processes and ingredients. It also features case studies that illustrate real product development and commercialization histories. Written for food scientists and technologists, this book presents practical information for use in functional food product development. It is an essential resource for practitioners in functional food companies and food technology centres and is also of interest to researchers and students of food science. Key features: A comprehensive review of the latest opportunities in this commercially important sector of the food industry Includes chapters highlighting functional food opportunities for specific health issues such as obesity, immunity, brain health, heart disease and the development of children. New technologies of relevance to functional foods are also addressed, such as emulsion delivery systems and nanoencapsulation. Includes chapters on product design and the use of functional ingredients such as antioxidants, probiotics and prebiotics as well as functional ingredients from plant and dairy sources Specific examples of taking products to market are provided in the form of case studies e.g. microalgae functional ingredients Part of the Functional Food Science and Technology book series (Series Editor: Fereidoon Shahidi)

The DFG Senate Commission on Food Safety organizes scientific meetings on current aspects of major importance to the safety of food, with the aim of reviewing and assessing the state of knowledge in a specific field. This book summarizes the important results from the meeting on «Functional Food: Safety Aspects», held at the Federal Research Center for Nutrition (Bundesforschungsanstalt fur Ernahrung, BFE) in Karlsruhe, attended by an outstanding faculty of internationally renowned experts from academia, industry and administration.

Advances in Food Science and Nutrition covers topics such as food safety objectives, risk assessment, quality assurance and control, good manufacturing practices, food processing systems, design and control, and rapid methods of analysis and detection, as well as sensor technology, environmental control, and safety. The thirteen chapters are written by prominent researchers from industry, academia, and government/private research laboratories around the world. The book details many of the recent technical research accomplishments in the areas food science, including: • Potato production, composition, and starch processing • Milk and different types of milk products • Processing and preservation of meat, poultry, and seafood • Food ingredients including additives and natural plant-based ingredients • Fruits and fruit processing • Antioxidant activity of phytochemicals and their method of analysis • The effect of food processing on bioactive compounds • Food safety regulations including foodborne pathogens, probiotics, genetically modified foods, and bioavailability of nutrients • Trends in sensory characterization of food products • Ultrasound applications in food technology • Transformations of food flavor including aroma compounds and chemical reactions that influence flavor • Storage technologies for fresh fruits

An A-to-Z of doping including its definition, its importance, methods of measurement, advantages and disadvantages, properties and characteristics—and role in conjugated polymers The versatility of polymer materials is expanding because of the introduction of electro-active behavior into the characteristics of some of them. The most exciting development in this area is related to the discovery of intrinsically conductive polymers or conjugated polymers, which include such examples as polyacetylene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polythiophene as well as their derivatives. «Synmet» or «synthetic metal» conjugated polymers, with their metallic characteristics, including conductivity, are of special interest to researchers. An area of limitless potential and application, conjugated polymers have sparked enormous interest, beginning in 2000 when the Nobel Prize for the discovery and development of electrically conducting conjugated polymers was awarded to three scientists: Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid, and Hideki Shirakawa. Conjugated polymers have a combination of properties—both metallic (conductivity) and polymeric; doping gives the conjugated polymer's semiconducting a wide range of conductivity, from insulating to low conducting. The doping process is a tested effective method for producing conducting polymers as semiconducting material, providing a substitute for inorganic semiconductors. Doping in Conjugated Polymers is the first book dedicated to the subject and offers a comprehensive A-to-Z overview. It details doping interaction, dopant types, doping techniques, and the influence of the dopant on applications. It explains how the performance of doped conjugated polymers is greatly influenced by the nature of the dopants and their level of distribution within the polymer, and shows how the electrochemical, mechanical, and optical properties of the doped conjugated polymers can be tailored by controlling the size and mobility of the dopants counter ions. The book also examines doping at the nanoscale, in particular, with carbon nanotubes. Readership The book will interest a broad range of researchers including chemists, electrochemists, biochemists, experimental and theoretical physicists, electronic and electrical engineers, polymer and materials scientists. It can also be used in both graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses on conjugated polymers and polymer technology.

This reference gives food science professionals a working understanding of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and its role in maximizing food potential. It explains the technical aspects of NIRS, including: basic principles; characteristics of the NIR spectra; instrumentation; sampling techniques; and chemometrics. The book details applications of NIRS in agricultural and marine products, foodstuffs and processed foods, engineering and process monitoring, and food safety and disease diagnosis.

Biomedical applications of Polymers from Scaffolds to Nanostructures The ability of polymers to span wide ranges of mechanical properties and morph into desired shapes makes them useful for a variety of applications, including scaffolds, self-assembling materials, and nanomedicines. With an interdisciplinary list of subjects and contributors, this book overviews the biomedical applications of polymers and focuses on the aspect of regenerative medicine. Chapters also cover fundamentals, theories, and tools for scientists to apply polymers in the following ways: Matrix protein interactions with synthetic surfaces Methods and materials for cell scaffolds Complex cell-materials microenvironments in bioreactors Polymer therapeutics as nano-sized medicines for tissue repair Functionalized mesoporous materials for controlled delivery Nucleic acid delivery nanocarriers Concepts include macro and nano requirements for polymers as well as future perspectives, trends, and challenges in the field. From self-assembling peptides to self-curing systems, this book presents the full therapeutic potential of novel polymeric systems and topics that are in the leading edge of technology.